A croissant is a type of pastry, classically made with puff pastry dough so that it is light, flaky, and extremely buttery. Traditionally, croissants are formed into crescent shapes, which is probably where the name originated, since croissant means "crescent" in French. The pastries are extremely popular in France as well as in other nations, and are typically eaten with breakfast. In some cases, croissants may also be filled with sweet or savoury ingredient, or used like bread to make croissant sandwiches.

Making croissants requires patience, several days of time, and skill with pastry. Many cooks prefer to buy frozen puff pastry dough or ready to bake croissants for this reason, since frozen doughs are easy to work with and they usually taste perfectly passable. Purchasing frozen dough or croissants also allows bakers to cook just a few as needed, since croissants taste best when they are fresh out of the oven.